nickel story up a notch for southern cross sxg

The nickel story has just gone up a notch for Southern Cross Golfields -SXG - which lists on 20/3.
SXG is the largest tenement holder in the newly recognized
"Central Yilgarn Nickel Province" See page 4 of POL and WSA announcement of today.
It is little wonder that WSA were keen to take up a major shareholding in Southern Cross Goldfields.

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The following story from Mining News - today - worth a read for all who have subscribed to SXG shares, not to mention the freebies to come through the Polaris in specie distribution to POL shareholders that have qualified.
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Western Areas gives JV updates

Charlotte Dudley - MINING NEWS
Tuesday, 11 March 2008

ENCOURAGING preliminary drill results, extended geological anomalies and a stake in an emerging mineral company were key features of an update on Western Areas’ various joint venture projects.

Elsewhere there was talk of the company expanding its focus to include non-nickel commodities.

Western Areas said preliminary results from the Mt Alexander project, a JV with BHP Billiton, indicated high-grade nickel and copper mineralisation.

Diamond drilling chip samples provided by the mega miner revealed finds of 7.49% nickel and 2.8% copper at approximately 58m depth, and 5.95% nickel and 2.25 copper at about 94m depth.

The company is awaiting formal assay results for the samples.

At Western Areas’ Lake King joint venture with Swanoak Holdings, further geological surveying has turned up positive findings.

Western Areas said the completion of a follow-up geophysical survey at the Nickel Hill prospect at Lake King, 60km south of its flagship Forrestania nickel project, has extended a previously identified anomaly.

The company said the anomaly extended at least 200m southeast from a drillhole intersection measuring 15m at 0.36% nickel, including 1m at 0.78% nickel from 180m downhole.

In other joint venture updates, Western Areas is continuing with geochemical surveying at the Sandstone nickel project, a JV with Troy Resources.

While only in early stages of testing, Western Areas said results had been “encouraging”, with anomalous nickel and copper values identified in several previously unexplored areas.

At a corporate level, the restructure of Western Areas’s interests in the former Bullfinch North JV (with Polaris metals) has seen the company subscribe to 5 million shares in the soon-to-be-listed gold and nickel explorer Southern Cross Goldfields.

The stake in Southern Cross gives weight to reports of Western Areas moving beyond its nickel focus.

Yesterday, news service Bloomberg reported the company’s planned move into copper and zinc, using growing revenue from its Forrestania nickel mine.

“We’re very aggressive explorers and developers of nickel, so we’d like to translate that into copper and zinc if the opportunities are there,” Western Areas chief executive Julian Hanna told Bloomberg.

While Hanna said nickel would remain Western Areas’ core business, its scarcity made it logical for the company to expand its portfolio to include other commodities, Bloomberg reported.

Shares in Western Areas dropped 5.5% to to $6.17.